Guwahati, Dec 8: Representatives of 31 states and Union Territories are taking part in a two-day workshop on the mid-term review and documentation of best practices of the ‘Aapda Mitra scheme’ that began here on Thursday.
Organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), the workshop aims to provide an opportunity to the project states/Union Territories to share their experiences, challenges in implementation of the scheme and identify the gaps to make mid-course correction for proper implementation of the scheme.
At the inaugural ceremony, the theme song for Aapda Mitra was launched followed by three sessions categorised as North Eastern/Hilly States/UTs, Plain States/UTs and Coastal States/UTs, wherein the participating states under each category presented their best practices, challenges and success stories.
Notably, NDMA is implementing a pilot project, “Aapda Mitra,” in 25 states/UTs, covering 30 districts, targeting a pool of 6,000 community volunteers.
Based on the feedback from the states/UTs and the ‘Vision 2024’ of the Centre, the NDMA, ministry of home affairs, is up scaling the “Aapda Mitra Scheme” in order to train one lakh volunteers in 350 districts prone to landslide, cyclone, earthquake and flood.
The scheme, which will be operational by March 31, 2023, aims to train volunteers with skills to respond to their communities’ immediate needs in the aftermath of a disaster.